Political Quotes

“whoever is President of the United States--be it President Clinton or now President George Bush--has the inherent power to utilize the Armed Forces of our Nation when he deems there is a threat to our security. That, of course, is the essence of the debate we are undertaking now. So when I read the clause where the Congress said ``therefore the President is urged to take appropriate action, in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws of the United States,'' to me, that implies a recitation of what we all know since the very first President--he has the authority to use force, if he deems it necessary, to bring Iraq into compliance with its international obligation. I wonder if the Senator would agree with this Senator one thing that has changed since this resolution is the situation in Iraq has worsened in the sense Saddam Hussein has had these years to proceed with his scheme of building weapons of mass destruction, and I think the open evidence shows he has achieved it in terms of the biological, and he has achieved it in terms of the chemical. With respect to the nuclear weapons, I believe the agreed-upon set of facts is he is doing everything he can to complete a program. There is a difference of opinion as to the time within which he can complete a program to give him a nuclear weapon. So, in my judgment, what has changed since 1998 is the situation has gotten worse and more threatening from Saddam Hussein.”